Crisis Checklist

We believe in sharing our best practices with the wider business community, and therefore provide an overview of what your organization should have in place to establish a strong reputation ahead of any issue, prepare for a crisis, respond to a crisis with timeliness and integrity, and ensure that you emerge with your reputation and business relationships intact.

Establishing Credibility.

This is important even without considering of crises. But should a crisis occur, having already established credibility will provide you a stronger foundation from which to operate.

Establishing credibility is important even without the potential of a crises. But should a crisis occur, having already established credibility will provide you a stronger foundation from which to operate.

Preparing for a Crisis

What are your organizations worst fears?

A labor strike, tainted product or an activist threat? Do you have a crisis plan in place? If so, does it have a communications component? Are your executives prepared to handle media inquiries of an aggressive nature? Are you prepared for a range of crises including financial, legal, product, operational and infrastructure? With whom would you align in a crisis? Fortunately, there’s much that can be done ahead of time to prepare for various scenarios that present potential threats to your business and reputation.

A key component of every contingency plan is crisis communications management. Be ready to communicate effectively and clearly with each constituency group within your sphere of influence – be they customers, employees, industry associations, government agencies or municipalities.

There are several levels of preparedness you can consider.

Media Training will help you designate appropriate spokespeople, develop messaging, and prepare for press interviews. You would learn how to respond cogently and effectively.

Communications Planning gives you the basic tools to create beneficial media opportunities, for example, getting out in front of an issue rather than functioning reactively. With communications planning, you establish a social media policy, a media policy, establish media visuals such as product shots and b-roll or video, establish media monitoring, involve third-party experts, craft FAQs, and establish search engine optimization practices.

Disaster and Operational Planning is important for any organization, and is your strategy and set of tactics for dealing with contentious situations. This level of preparedness includes scenario planning, pre-drafted position statements, a message action plan for all audiences, plans for a hotline, prepared fact-gathering questions, relocation alternatives, a pre-formatted web page that can provide custom messages and information, and contact rosters.

Table Top Drills are intensive exercises. They prepare you in a number of ways: Clarify roles and responsibilities, identify actions and enhance the decision-making process for implementation of industry guidelines in the event of a crisis. These exercises identify issues for management that guide further development of protocols, procedures, training and policy making. Table Top Drills are opportunities to review how to transition into an Emergency Organization as outlined in Emergency Response Plans in accordance with your Emergency Management System. Very quickly, roles and responsibilities are clarified.

Managing a Crisis.

PANTCHEK is a handy acronym to remember what must be kept in mind when managing communications in a crisis situation.

Public welfare is first priority

All bad news out at once/Assemble the facts

No blame, no speculation, do not repeat the charges

Tell your side of the story/Take responsibility

Care and concern

High-level organization spokesperson

Ensure that it will not happen again

Keep separate plan for moving ahead

There are several basic “dos” when it comes to crisis communications:

Provide information to the outside; update key personnel

Establish organization spokesperson; speak only on behalf of the organization